Plaited garment



April 24, 1945. L. w. VOLK PLEATED GARMENT Filed Jan. 13, 1942 Patented Apr. 24, 1945 so STATE FA E oeelce 2,374,314 1 PLAPITED GARMENFIL Louis W. Volk, Washington, D; C. ApplicationlJ anuary-13, 1942, Serial No. 426,828

' rolaiml (o1; 2-,-93)1 This 1 invention relates .to-s garments: of plaited.

construction; and is/of p-articular: application to coats .orv blouses of the. so called .swingback. or bieswingrstyle- Takingtas an exampleof the-type= of 'ganmentzto. which the; invention; is especially directed. the present U; S. Army blouse which is [provided with t a sideeplaited back;v it is a .common faultof :such

garments ;.that the plaits' do not-Lreadi'ly1 return to; a closed; flatelying position: after extension;

thereofi: due: tolmovements of; the arms: of 1 the wearer; but often remain inlbulgedlor puckered conditiom untilt manually; readjusted; The; un-

sightliness, discomfiture and annoyance: towthe wearericaused this. defect rinthe conventional fOl'lIIIOf plaitedaback coat'or blouse have mate-- rially detracted from the-popularity: and utility. of: this; otherwise. meritorious form of. garment; and are-particularly objectionable in a military.

uniform-l While various expedients have been tried EfOlJ; the, purposeof curing this: defect, each 1 of 11311058: heretofore known is subject .to. objection t on oneeorrmore grounds; and none. of them-has proven entirely satisfactory both-from the stand-- pointzofzcontinued effectiveness: for the intended I purpose, andzas a matter of economy;

It is; therefore 1 one of the objects ofcthe present inventiomto p-rovidena; novel means for-insuring that the =plaits f ,amlaitedsgarment are normally. maintainedin neatly closed; smoothly fittin po sitiom. and: are automatically. returned to that:

position afteryhavingabeen opened or extended bybodyv movements. of the wearer.-

Another; object is to: provide 1 a. plait closing construction-ohnew andimprovedxdesign which can, be; quickly and; inexpensively incorporated in any garment. of t: the character described; whethergnewor 01d, linedvorsunlined, andcan be 5 replaced; with equal facility whenever necesstilhanotherzobjectis tot-provide: a novel ar rangement forzmaintaining the proper fit and neat appearance of; a'lp-laited garment which, although extremely simpleinponstruction, is more effective in oiperationthan thelmore complicated,

expensive constructionspreviously suggested.

These end other objects; includingathat of gen-v erallmimnroving theefit andappeai'ance of plaited garments of:variousrtypesawi'll'appearmoresfullyuponconsideration" of the detailed description! of'the: specifically disclosed embodimentsaoir the i invention-which follows. In this-connection, al;

though-only. one. particular form of garmentiis described and illustrated in the accompanying-. drawing; it is to 'be expressly understood that this.- drawin is for -the:pu11pose of illustrationzonly; andisv not to be construed as'defining-lthe'scopegofir theinvention, for which latter purpose reference- I should-.behadto the appended clairm Referringnow to'the drawing; wherein likIe-ref+ erence; characters indicate like parts throughout! the .several'views:

, Fig; .1 :islazperspectiveviewoffthewback 01110116" dorm of garmentfembodying :theapresen-t invert-*- tion (partially broken away at one ipoint to bet ter illustratetheamanner :of connectingttheeplait closings 11143311811130 the plaited portion .of the-garment) this viewshowing'a military'coat or blouse: of::thedohswing:type-asitrwould;nornrallyiappearr onlthea-v bodyrofxthe wearer when/the. latter is; standing-erect, as in the position c t-attention;

Fig; 2111s a fragmentaryiviewzof :thel'insideiof the coat shownrimEig. lets. it might appear if ;turnedinside'zout;

FigaBwisga horizontal sectional view, on an el'l e larged:,and exaggerated scale;. through thewb'ackt of'.thez.-coatshown in;;Fig.-: 1; takensubstantially on the line: 3- -3 inthe latter. figure; V

Fig. 4 is a :sectional Iview similar toliig; es-show: ing a slight qmodifi'cation :in .the :manner:;of ;c0n=-. necting the plait closing means to theaplaited; portionssofgthe-agarment; and; t

Fig; 5?:isaa: fragmentary :view. similar to 2* illustrating ;a further modification of 'thezstnucs ture. of :the invention Referring now to Figs. 1, .2.cand3,' the-inven tion;is there shown, solely by wayaof example; as applied to a military coat of i'the iii-swing type at a present gused by 'the "U. S.- a v.fornr of garment in which theinvention has already'been embodied with substantial success.

As illustrated; the: coat comprises 'azpain of like back sections-l l sewn together 'to :form a central. back seam l2 and extending vertically from the collar-l3 and shoulder-seams. l4downward1yvto the ,regiomof :the ;Waist',' the lower portion of the bacle-of'the coat ibeingrformed byva-pair otrear skirt sections; I5;and.l6 which are: secured to thelower ,edges' of .ihe back d-sections 1 I I i but are unconnected to one another, their adjacent edges overlappingrslightly-toiform -a vent l1. At the shoulder. seams 14; the back sections H are semtoathe front sections I8 (of whichonly fragmentarywportions are-illustrated in the draw ing), a pair of relatively narrow tapered side sections l9 being interposed between the lower portions of the front sections, on the one hand, and the lower portions of the back sections and the side edges of the skirt sections, on the other hand, and being joined thereto along the side seams 20 and underarm seams 2 I The back sections H, front sections I8 and side sections I9 are suitably cut to form 'armholes 22 to the edges of which are sewn the sleeves 23. Extending across the back of the coat, on the outside, from one underarm seam 2| to the other, and overlying the waist seam 24 between the back sections H and skirt sections I and I6, is a belt 25. At the extremities of the belt 25 are positioned belt hooks 26, sewn to the coat on the interior thereof and extending outwardly through theunderarm seams 2|.

In order to provide the known advantages of the bi-swing type of back, each of the back sec-' tions II is so cut and shaped as to produce an inwardly extending side plait 21 which preferably runs all the way from the shoulder seam M to the waist seam 24. In the embodiment illustrated, both the innerv side 28 and outer side 29 of each plait are formed out of the same piece of fabric as the associated back section I I, the outer and inner corners 30 and 3| of the plait being stitched to assist in maintaining the creased edges desired at these points, and the outer edge of the inner side 28 being sewn to the sleeve 23 and side section IE1 at the edge of the armhole 22 and side seam 20. If desired, each plait may, of course, be formed by a separate plait section sewn to the back section II along the outer corner 30 of the plait.

The coat construction thus far described is, as above mentioned, old and well known, and is subject to the equally well known defect that, when the wearer of the coat moves about and extends his arms so as to open the plaits, the inner corners 3| or outlets of the plaits frequently do not return to their proper, normal positions as indicated in Fig. 1, but remain in a bulged, unsightly condition until manually tucked back into place. To remedy this defect, the present invention provides an extremely simple construction for insuring that each plait is yieldably maintained in a properly closed, smooth-lying and neatly fitting position at all times other than when actually extended by body movements of the wearer.

In the embodiment illustrated, the novel plait closing means comprises a pair of elastic strap members 32 made of any suitable material, such as elastic webbing, each of which members is sewn at its inner end to the inwardly folded edge a 33 of one of back sections H adjacent the back seam l2, extends laterally across the back section in a substantially horizontal direction, and has its outer end secured to the plait. As indicated in Figs. 1 and 2, the elastic strap members 32 have a vertical width which is only a minor fraction of the length of the back sections H, and are so located as to lie oppositethe lower portions of the armholes 22. One construction which has proven quite satisfactory in actual practice embodies strips of elastiewebbing approximately 2% inches wide, so positioned that their lower edges lie in substantially the same plane as the armpits 34.

As will be seen best from Fig. 3, the inner end of each elastic strap member 32 is cut square and is sewn to the folded edge 33 of the back section I l in such a manner that it lies between the told and the overlapping portion of the back section, while the outer end is cut triangularly and sewn only to the outer side 29 of the plait with the apex of the pointed end spaced sufficiently from the outer corner 30 to avoid bulkiness at this point. Since both ends of each elastic strap member 32 are thus covered when the coat is viewed from the inside, as in Fig. 2, the smooth fit of the coat is not adversely affected, nor are there any exposed edges formed on which things might become caught and thereby tend to tear the members away from the parts to which they are secured, as when the coat is being cleaned or pressed.

If desired, the stitching by which the outer ends of the elastic strap members 32 are sewn to the plaits may extend through both thicknesses of the plait-forming material, as shown in Fig, 4. This construction has the advantage of restricting somewhat, depending upon the length of the pointed nd of the elastic strap member, the extent to which each plait is permitted to open at that point where the bulge most often occurs in the conventional bi-swing garment. Sewing the strap members to the inner sides 28, as well as the outer sides 29, of the plaits also provides a more positive plait closing action and a somewhat flatter, closer fitting construction.

In the modification illustrated in Fig. 5, the outer end of each elastic strap member 32 is cut approximately square, instead of tria'ngularly, and is sewn to both thicknesses of the plait along a line closely paralleling the inner corner 3| or outlet thereof. I

There is thus provided by the present invention a new, extremely simple device for improving the appearance and fit of pleated garments, particularly coats or blouses of the bi-swing type. By using individual elastic strap members for the plaits lying at opposite sides of the garment, each plait is adjusted independently of the other, and should one strap wear out or lose its elasticity before the other, it can be separately replaced. By virtue of the simplicity of the present construction and the positioning of the strap members in the manner illustrated,.it is obvious that the invention may be incorporated in either new or old garments by any tailor in a relatively few minutes, and, when necessary, may be-replaced with equal facility. The strap members are so positioned as to present a minimum of interference with normal use and care of the gar-.

ment, and may be embodied in lined, as well as unlined, garments without alteration or removal of any of the parts of the garment itself. When installed in the manner disclosed, the construction of the present invention will function in a highly efiective manner to cure what has long been recognized as an objectionable defect in plaited garments.

While only one particular form of garment embodying the invention, and three variations in the specific structure thereof, have been described and illustrated. in the accompanying drawing, it will be obvious that the invention is not limited to the exact structures shown but is capable of a variety ofmechanical embodiments. In this connection, it should be clearly understood that the inventive concept -is not only adapted for embodiment in all styles of mens, womens and children's coats of the biswing type, but may also find utility in other garments wherein there is need for plait closing means of the character herein disclosed. It will. also be obvious that the precise size and A coat or like garment oi the type wherein the back of the garment is provided between the shoulders and the waist with inwardly extend: ing side plaits, means for yieldably maintaining said plaits in normally closed position com prising a pair of laterally and oppositely extending elastic strap members each securedat one end to one of said plaits adjacent the inner corner thereof and at its other end to the inside of the back of the garment adjacent the longitudinal center line thereof.

LOUIS W. VOLK. 

